Baked figs in red wine sprinkled with cheddar

Last week I visited a launch of Omar Allibhoy’s new book Spanish Made Simple: Foolproof Spanish Recipes for Every Day (buy here). Omar is the man behind Tapas Revolution – a popular lunch spot for Brummies which you can find clustered together with other snackeries & eateries at Grand Central. Spanish cuisinefascinates me – it’s very different from the Czech one which is what I grew up on. It also slightly terrifies me – I’ve never cooked anything Spanish in my life! I was very intrigued whilst flicking through the book – is this something I might be able to cook myself?

The last time I visited Tapas Revolution I was smitten by their deserts. The rich chocolate mousses, the bread pudding like pancakes with a heap of cinnamon… all those dishes had one thing in common – they were all spicy & oh so comforting. When I woke up this morning and looked outside of the window into our ever so slightly frosty garden the choice was clear – I was to make a hearty desert today! My eye was caught by the beauty of baked figs in red wine sprinkled with cheddar. Well, Omar bakes them in sweet cherry wine smothered in Tetilla cheese but hey, we’re in England, right? Whatever-red-wine-I-found-in-Tescos & mild cheddar. This is what dreams are made of!